Large crowds turn out for relics of St. Mary Magdalene

MANDEVILLE, La. - Thousands of faithful touched religious history Friday on the Northshore.

 

 

 

For one day, Our Lady of the Lake Church in Mandeville housed the Relics of St. Mary Magdalene.

 

The Relics arrived at the church around 10am Friday. "When we all got the first glance when she came off the bus," said Our Lady of the Lake Pastor, Father John Talamo. "It was just an extraordinary moment."

 

Students carried the reliquary inside the church, then every student at the school was brought through to see the shinbone of the woman who the Bible says, was the first witness to the Resurrection of Christ.

 

The faithful inside the church were asked to be silent, but they were allowed to touch the Reliquary.

 

"As people are coming up and actually touching the Reliquary," added Father John, "and, we do encourage everyone to come up and touch the Reliquary, you can just see people moved with emotion. As some people are walking away, they're filled with tears."

 

"It was just breathtaking," said Tammy Campo, a parishioner at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Covington. "It was really, really special. It was more than I thought it was going to be and it took my breath away."

 

"I got the chills walking up there and just to be able to touch the relic casing was incredible," said Our Lady of the Lake Parishioner Stefanie Serpas. "I have a very special ring that I actually put on the casing. It felt very powerful. Words can't even express how wonderful it was to come view the casing and St. Mary Magdalene Relic, it was so beautiful."

 

"This is the biggest thrill of my life," said Al Herron of the Knights of Columbus, who helped with the Reliquary's arrival. "I don't know how to put it into words. It's tremendous. It's a once in a lifetime event. You'll never see this again in your lifetime, not in my lifetime anyway."

 

"Some people, they really can not believe it," said Vivien Martineau, who's here from France, travelling with the Relics of St. Mary Magdalene. "They really express it, and they want to touch it and we just watch them and we watch the intimacy of the encounter, so it's so, so nice. So, this is the gift of the day, to watch those people."

 

Martineau said, he's seen many Americans have strong reactions to the reliquary on this trip. "The reaction will be very individual, but I can see, the American people, it looks like they must have very big hearts because of the emotion, it's nice."

 

The Relics have been kept in Europe since the 2nd Century, and have been on continuous display in a French church since 1279, but are now making their first trip to America. It's a six week trip stopping in only about three dozen churches.

 

"It's her kneebone," said Edward Clancy of the Emmanuel Community, a religious group which helped plan this trip. "It's the bone that she would have kneeled down upon as Jesus said to her, 'Do not touch me. I have not yet fully resurrected.' So, to see that, it's an actual witness to Christ."

 

"With all the people coming with the faith, and it's a strong faith," added Martineau. "You can see that, Mary Magdalene is welcoming them and taking them at the foot of the cross, and the foot of Jesus, so it's a blessing."   

"And to think she was what she once was, and was able to wipe Jesus' feet with her hair," Campo said, "and become this, it's just amazing. Then she's here first in the United States, then in our own backyard, it's just so special."

 

Saturday and Sunday, the relics will be on display in St. Anthony of Padua Church on Canal Street in New Orleans.